ACKNOWLEDGING AND CONFRONTING GENDER STEREOTYPES IN

MALE-DOMINATED PROFESSIONSKathleen Murphy

PSS Inclusion and Diversity Conference 2017June 20, 2017

Gender Stereotypes

Fallacy of Gender Stereotypes

Candace S. Johnson, PhD CEORoswell Park Cancer Institute

JoAnn Falletta, ConductorBuffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

Tim HuntNobel Laureate

“Let me tell you about my trouble with girls. Three things happen when they are in the lab: you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticize them, they cry.”

Vasily PetrenkoConductor

“Orchestras react better when they have a man in front of them because a cute girl on the podium means that musicians think about other things.”

So what? Yes, but…

Male-Dominated Professions

Science MusicWomen

Women’s Leadership Rates

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

Full Professors Principal Conductors

Affinity Bias

Our implicit tendency to favor people like ourselves.

Stereotype Threat

Situational predicament in which individuals are at risk for confirming negative stereotypes about their social group.

Gender Bias Research

In STEM fields, many employers hire ‘John’ rather than ‘Jennifer’.- Moss-Racusin, 2012

In orchestras, blind audition process increases women hires.- Goldin & Rouse, 2000

What Can We Do?

Gender Stereotypes

Case Study – The SituationDear Abby,

I could use some advice. I recently had a meeting with a (male) non-IT administrator along with a fellow (male) IT director. The non-IT administrator did not make eye contact with me except to glance briefly at me when I spoke, talked directly to my male colleague as if I were not in the room, even saying to him "I think it would be better if the *two* of us talk to my boss rather than me alone" and finally proceeded to admire the TARDIS cookie jar on my colleague's desk only to turn to me and explain dismissively "it's nerd stuff." (As it turns out, I've been watching Dr. Who since I was 10 and had binge watched Season 8 the previous weekend, which made it particularly infuriating.)

I was so astonished and angry that I didn't know what to do or say - I've never encountered anything that blatant or obnoxious in my 20 years here. (I've thought of many snarky retorts since of course.)

The situation is that I am going to have to be in another meeting with him soon, that will include his (male) boss and my male colleague. I am not willing to be treated this way, but I don't know how to handle or address it best. I haven't been able to run a scenario in my head that resulted in a satisfactory outcome. I would appreciate any advice.

Jane

Case Study - Advice■ I went too many times without saying something in a former position, so, from day one in my

new one, I made it abundantly clear that being treated as anything but equal would not be tolerated. 2 years and no issues so far.

■ If you feel comfortable being nasty back at the person, go for it! No way would a man let a woman ignore him or treat him the way your colleague did to you.

■ Use the reflective technique when someone insults or tries to bully you. Such as saying "I think I heard you to say...". "I'm not quite sure what you mean by that“. "Is there a problem?"

■ I have been in this situation before and just want to throw two more thoughts your way. 1) don't assume it is because you are a women. There could be other things going on here... basic favoritism (did they have a relationship and you didn't), ageism, other things... just rudeness not related to your gender. So if you do talk to him, be open minded, sometimes rudeness is just that. 2) don't lose sleep over it. People will respect you for who you are in the end, and getting into some kind of "fight" with this guy won't serve you well either - so let your heart be your guide, and take the high road. I'm not suggesting you don't talk to him - I'm cautioning you to not let this take you down a path you don't want to go. He may respond poorly to the conversation - and you should hold your head high and smile.

■ Ask your colleague to reinforce the future conversation with this administrator. Having those friends at the table who help point out the bias without shaming the person doing it specifically really helps.

■ Be strong, calm and persistent in the meeting. Engage in the conversation professionally and firmly. Don’t stoop to his level. Be yourself. Don’t let him bully you or disrespect you. Address and respond to him firmly and with clarity.

Case Study- The OutcomeI decided to start with the advice to enlist my male colleague. I asked him to observe and check my perceptions, and to think about what we can do if he also observes the behavior.

It turns out that he had just been to Title IX training, and he had been thinking about it with respect to our upcoming meeting. In his training, he had been advised to be vocal when he observes sexist or inappropriate behavior. He asked me what wanted, and we had a discussion about the best way to handle it given that I need that relationship to improve. For this meeting, I asked him to help redirect the conversation to include me, and he was open to this.

This time there was also another supportive male colleague in the meeting, which made it much more comfortable for me. I don't know if it was conscious or not, but my colleague made frequent eye contact with me while the person in question was talking to both of us before the meeting. This had the effect of redirecting that person to include me in the conversation. And, I think knowing that I had the support of my colleagues I was more assertive in joining the conversation.

During the meeting with the person's boss, the person assumed a much less powerful role and his boss was the one who did most of the talking, which went very well. I am optimistic that future interactions will go better. If they don't, I am ready to have a more direct conversation with him.

Thank You!